The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia sp. of the Compositae ( Asteraceae ) family, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘DA 12’.
The new Dahlia cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Rune Harboe Nielsen, in Odense, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program is to develop a new Dahlia variety with a compact, strong, and healthy growth habit, suitable for large scale container production; fully double flowering creating a globular-shaped flower head (composite flower head with many ray florets); and flower heads with new, vibrant colors.
The new Dahlia cultivar originated from a cross made in a controlled breeding program by the inventor in 2003, in Fyn, Odense, Denmark. The female or seed parent is a Dahlia cultivar designated ‘01.149L’ (unpatented). The male or pollen parent is a Dahlia cultivar designated ‘DASEKS’ (unpatented in the US, granted as EU-CPVO application number 19981438). The new Dahlia ‘DA12’ was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in May of 2004 in a controlled environment in Odense, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia cultivar by vegetative cuttings was first performed in August of 2004 in Odense, Denmark, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true to type.